Half-mast in Ireland – position, procedure and occasions

Lowering the flag to half-mast is, in the words of the guidelines of the Department of the Taoiseach, a well-established procedure whereby countries bestow an honour and express a collective sense of sorrow. In Ireland the rules for it are in sections 8 and 10 of the guidelines “The National Flag”. As with the rest of the guidelines, there is no law behind them.

The position

The guidelines describe the half-mast position in three steps:

The space at the top is traditionally considered to leave room for “the invisible flag of death”. As a general guide, the guidelines take the half-mast position as that where the top of the flag is one flag depth below the top of the staff.

On a 6-metre flagpole with a 900 × 1800 mm flag, the size an Irish supplier lists for poles of that height, this means the top of the flag sits about 5.1 metres up, and the flag stays above 3 metres, the middle of the pole. The flag size calculator works out both points for other pole heights.

Hoisting and lowering

According to the guidelines, the flag is first brought to the peak of the staff and then lowered to the half-mast position. Before it is lowered for the day, it is again brought to the peak, and only then lowered. In raising or lowering, the flag does not touch the ground.

On a flagpole with a halyard, the half-mast position is set by how far the flag is lowered. How the halyard, cleat and truck work is described in the guide to how a flagpole works.

No other flags

Where the National Flag is flown at half-mast, no other flag is flown, according to the guidelines. At a business park or a hotel with a row of flagpoles, this means the company, county or foreign flags come down while the tricolour is at half-mast.

When the flag is lowered

The guidelines give three kinds of occasion:

• National or international figures: On the death of a national or international figure, the National Flag is flown at half-mast on all prominent government buildings equipped with a flagpole, under advice from the Department of the Taoiseach.
• Tragic events: The Department may also advise that the flag be flown at half-mast after other tragic events.
• Local figures: The death of a prominent local figure may be marked locally by flying the flag at half-mast.

There is no standing list of days on which the flag is at half-mast. The advice from the Department applies to government buildings; for councils, schools, clubs, businesses and private owners, following it is a matter of choice.

Day and night

A flag at half-mast follows the same hours as other flags: normally from sunrise to sunset. The guidelines allow a National Flag at half-mast to be displayed day and night for the duration of a funeral, provided the flag is illuminated. More in the guide to flag lighting.

Other signs of mourning

Half-mast is one of several ways the flag is used in mourning. The guidelines also describe how the flag drapes a coffin, with the green at the head, how it is folded after the funeral and when it is dipped during memorial ceremonies. Those customs are covered in the guide to flags in mourning.